The Things They Carried, 2003

Mixed media

Many people can quickly feel at ease in a natural environment. However, it isn’t true of everyone. For kids that grow up in the city and suddenly find themselves in the woodland surroundings of, for instance, a summer camp, the adjustment can feel abrupt and jarring. All at once, trees replace buildings, boots replace sneakers, bigger backpacks replace smaller backpacks, and there’s a sudden need for bug repellent. Even the colors of the world change to earth tones and the colors of our urban clothes and belongings seem so out of place. This mural is about the period of adjustment of identity of being a city kid suddenly in a very natural world, a time when the city is gone, but nature still feels very, very unnatural.